


Partner

by captlana



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 08:23:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15287604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captlana/pseuds/captlana
Summary: Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng were made to be partners, with or without the mask.





	Partner

Adrien Agreste was having one of those days.

Those days where he just didn't feel like getting out of bed. Days where he felt drained for no reason. Days where he would stare at a wall with glazed eyes. Days of not feeling anything but feeling everything at the same time. Of course, he wasn't really surprised that this resurfaced again, after all, he had been suppressing it for a while now. Sometimes he wondered if this feeling of his was normal.

However, the boy knew that he would have to get out of bed soon, Nathalie would be knocking on his door any moment now. Deciding he would beat her to it, Adrien untangled himself from his covers and sat down at the edge of his bed, still trying to process everything.

Plagg hovered in front of him, "You okay kid?" the kwami asked, showing concern for his holder, which was quite rare. The little black cat usually never showed his concern towards Adrien, only engaging in playful banter, but knew that he would have to check in on the boy from time to time.

The teenager didn't respond, soon getting up and trudging to his bathroom. The wide, grey beams of the giant glass window towered over him casting a shadow on the boy, once again reminding Adrien of how trapped he really was.

Adrien Agreste was not living a sheltered life as one might assume. He was living in a prison disguised as a grand mansion. He knew his father meant well for his actions, but despite his good intentions, Adrien felt the opposite of what his father wanted him to feel. Nathalie's sharp knock on his door snapped him awake, his mind clicking back into reality for a moment.

"I'm up," Adrien's groggy voice snapped, "You don't have to come in."

"As you wish," replied Nathalie's muffled voice from outside, "I will be checking in on you again later if you aren't downstairs in twenty minutes. We will be discussing your schedule for the day later during breakfast. Please be punctual."

"Will Father be there?" Adrien asked, somehow wishing that his father would grace him with his presence. The model couldn't even recall the last time he had a conversation with his dad.

Nathalie's response was delayed, "I'm afraid Mr. Agreste won't be present, he's currently in his office, working on a very important project right now."

Adrien didn't bother replying as he slammed the bathroom door shut. He had expected it of course, but it still hurt somehow.

________________________________________________

Breakfast was the usual, with Nathalie discussing his schedule; fencing practice was cancelled today, Mandarin lessons would still presume, a short photo shoot later this evening at the studio and piano practice after school. Adrien zoned out the entire time, stabbing his breakfast with silver cutlery, staring at the empty table in silence. If he was being honest, he couldn't give less of a damn right now but nodded curtly at Nathalie and nodded a thank you.

"We will be leaving for your school in 10 minutes, please be ready by then." Nathalie said lastly before retreating out the room, probably going to his father's office. When Nathalie left the room, Plagg zipped out from his hiding spot in Adrien's collar, stretching his little arms and rubbing his belly.

"Hey kid do you have some Camembert? I'm starving." Plagg grumbled.

For some reason, that made Adrien smile a bit. He poked the kwami's stomach playfully, "When are you not hungry?"

Plagg scoffed, "And when will YOU stop asking questions and just feed me?"

Adrien rolled his eyes, gesturing for Plagg to hide in his collar, "I think I have a few more slices in my bag upstairs."

The kwami's eyes lit up and zipped in back in faster than usual, for once obliging to whatever Adrien said.

Even if his companion was obnoxious at times, Adrien felt grateful for having Plagg in his life. God knows he needed some sort of noise in his daily world of silence. Besides, it felt great to have someone to banter with from time to time, even if it cost him to smell like Camembert.

After getting ready, and after Plagg settled in his school bag, Adrien headed downstairs to go to school, he couldn't help but glance at the towering portrait of him and his father. A pang of melancholy stabbed his heart, all for good reason. Plagg flew out of the bag, "Kid?"

Adrien smiled at the kwami and opened his collar once again, "Let's go."

He sure was having a rough day, and the day barely even started. Attempting to shrug off and repress his negative feelings, Adrien Agreste headed down the grand staircase, more or less ready to seize the day.

________________________________________________

Marinette rushed out of the door, her bag hastily slung over her shoulder, pigtails messy and her shoes worn on the wrong foot. Needless to say, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a hot mess. Despite her clumsiness and lack of punctuality, she was Paris' beloved heroine. Even after all this time, it was still bizarre to comprehend that. It was her turn to patrol last night, not only that, but she had stupidly stayed up late to finish a design of hers, completely forgetting about having school the next day. Luckily, Tikki woke her up just in time, slapping the girl into reality. With her last dying breath, Marinette made it in the locker room, heaving heavily and resting her head on her locker.

She looked around, noticing that none of her classmates were there. Opening her purse, her kwami flew out, giggling at her holder.

"How do I look Tikki?" Marinette asked, trying to see her reflection on the window, retying her pigtails. She had zero time to fix her hair earlier this morning, it was probably a bird's nest.

"The usual," Tikki tried to comfort, "You look fine Marinette!"

Marinette tugged at her pigtails, fixing a fringe gap, "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Don't worry about it," Tikki reassured her, "Plus, you better hurry up, you might be late to class. Again."

"Alright, thanks Tikki." Marinette smiled at her kwami as Tikki zipped in her purse. Making sure it was secure, Marinette closed her locker and was about to walk out when she bumped into a familiar mop of blonde hair.

"Oh my gosh, I'm, I’m so sorry!" she stammered, looking up at realizing who she crashed into, "Oh! He-Hey, Adr-Adrien!"

He looked up and gave her a tired smile, "Hey Marinette." he said weakly, waving at her weakly before heading to his own locker.

The said girl frowned, knowing that something was wrong. She didn't know what, but she felt a disturbance in the force. Out of the many things she knew about model boy Adrien Agreste, was that he was a morning person. He grinned and greeted every one of his classmates after all, even if he seemed sleepy or tired, he never ceased to let a frown grace his perfect face in the morning.

Deciding to investigate later, she headed to their classroom not really wanting to come up with a lame excuse again.

________________________________________________

Just as Marinette expected, Adrien was down for the entire school day. Marinette furrowed her eyebrows in utter frustration, just watching him down irritated her. Maybe something happened between him and his father? The boy didn't even budge when Nino tried to comfort him.

Alya nudged her, "Do you think Adrien's okay?"

Marinette sighed sadly, "I wish I knew."

Chloe however, couldn't take a hint that Adrien wasn't feeling it today. She threw herself onto him and slurred his nickname.

"Adrikins!" she purred, "How about we hangout after school at my Daddy's hotel? We added new features to the pool area!"

Adrien hesitantly pried her body off his and gave a weak smile, "Sorry Chloe but I have to say no, I have a bit of a schedule today. Maybe another time."

"Ridiculous, utter ridiculous." Chloe mumbled, walking back to her seat in disbelief.

Class dragged on and Marinette couldn't concentrate. She kept trying to peer over in front of her, trying to observe or to catch any sort of clue. Adrien rested in cheek on his open palm the entire time, scribbling words in his notebook that Marinette wasn't able to read. She decided to discuss the matter with Alya, who found the entire mission a bit silly.

"Girl, he's just having an off day," Alya argued, "Let's just give him some space, he might need it."

Marinette nodded at her best friend, still not entirely agreeing with her. Eventually the school day ended with Adrien leaving earlier than usual, she hung around near him and Nino, trying to overhear their conversation, while trying to maintain a conversation with Alya.

"Dude, do you wanna hang out and we can talk about it?" Nino offered, "You've been having a really off day today."

Adrien offered him a weak smile, "I'm fine, seriously. I just feel a little distracted today, that's all," he attempted to reassure his best friend, who obviously didn't buy it, "Besides, I have piano lessons after this."

Nino pursed his lips, "Whatever you say dude, just know that I'm a text message away."

Adrien nodded curtly, "Thanks Nino."

After that brief conversation, Adrien was whisked away by his limousine, with Nino waving goodbye at the retreating vehicle, making Marinette really irritated. After spending the entire day trying to figure out what Adrien's problem was, she got nothing, which frustrated her greatly. She didn't know why she was so invested in this in the first place. Maybe Alya was right, she should just let this whole silly idea go and give him space. But, watching the black limousine turn a corner, something stirred in Marinette's chest, making her more determined than ever.

She faced Alya and made up an excuse of her own, saying that she had to leave early as her parents wanted her to help out at the bakery today.

Alya shrugged, "That's alright girl, besides, I have to update the LadyBlog."

The two said their goodbyes and left, Marinette walking home faster than usual. After being Ladybug for so long and having to get out of certain situations, she started becoming better at coming up with excuses. Entering the bakery, she kissed her parents on the cheeks and excused herself to her bedroom, saying she had a lot of homework to work on. That wasn't exactly a lie, it was true, but there were more important matters at hand.

She opened her purse, Tikki flying out.

"Tikki, spots on."

A few seconds later, Ladybug flew off Marinette Dupain-Cheng's balcony, she knew that after this little rendezvous of hers, she would have the lecture of a lifetime from her kwami about abusing her Miraculous. This wasn't overusing her alter-ego, she just wanted to check up on Adrien. If he wouldn't open up to her civilian self, he might to Ladybug.

She ran past rooftops and swung around Paris, feeling the sharp breeze and the adrenaline coursing through her veins with every leap of her yoyo. She smiled at the passerby's who spotted her and waved at a few of them, saluting at one of them who was taking a picture of her appearance on their phone. Soon enough she saw the exterior of the Agreste mansion, Ladybug already knew where Adrien's room was located and where to enter, having been here before from previous Akuma fights. From outside his window, she could hear the soft keys of the piano playing. Was he practicing?

Leaping in his open bathroom window, she went inside, closing the door behind her softly. Adrien Agreste's room was what every teenager dreamt of, everything you could possibly want in one place, but Adrien Agreste wasn't the average teenager, not by a long shot.

As Ladybug entered, she noticed that there was no Adrien playing the piano, but a stereo with a phone in, playing a prerecorded track. The model was lying on his bed, reading a comic. The heroine grinned to herself, the mask giving her some sort of confidence as she walked over and crossed her arms, "I didn't know that the piano could play itself?"

Adrien's body stiffened as he quickly sat up, a blush creeping on his face, not expecting a superhero catching his small acts of rebellion. "La-Ladybug?!" he gasped in disbelief, "What, what are you doing here?"

She smiled and sat the edge of his bed, "I was just passing by, and wanted to say hello."

Adrien sat up and hugged his knees, not exactly knowing how to react to having a superhero in his bedroom. Ladybug decided to take it upon herself to start a conversation.

"What are you reading?" she asked, peering over to look at the forgotten comic book lying beside him.

The boy scratched his cheek, shyly, "Oh-oh, it's just a manga."

"A Manga?"

"Yea-yeah," his voice lightening up, "You don't what it is?."

"Nope," Ladybug said honestly, "But I've heard of it."

"They're Japanese comics, basically." Adrien explained, showing her the book, flipping through it. 

"What's it about?" Ladybug asked, scooting closer, curiosity in her tone. 

"Oh!" Adrien grinned, "It's actually pretty interesting-"

The boy continued to explain the story to her, his eyes lightening up and his smile growing wider as he discussed the plot and characters. The boy was obviously as passionate about this as she was with fashion design, which really intrigued her. She eventually also found out that he was quite the fan of Japanese culture, Ladybug was surprised (not really) to know that model boy Adrien Agreste was a huge anime nerd. 

"That's actually really interesting," Ladybug smiled, "Where can I read one?"

Adrien scratched the back of his neck, "I can, uh, let you borrow one?"  

Ladybug widened her eyes, a blush creeping beneath her spotted mask, "Really?"

"Yeah! Why not? It's pretty hard to find copies around here, hold on a sec." Adrien grinned and got up, rushing over to the staircase up to the massive bookshelf, scanning for a specific spine. Ladybug followed behind him and curiously watched as he bustled around. 

"Here!" he said, turning around a bit too fast, causing her to stumble a bit, their bodies at dangerously close proximity.

"Uh- I, uh, umm." he stammered, unable to step away, too flustered to do anything. Ladybug was glad she was wearing a mask, because she was pretty sure her face was bright red.

"Here you go Ladybug," Adrien handed her a book, and stepping away, averting his gaze, "I-uh, hope you enjoy reading it."

Ladybug smiled at him, grateful, "Thank you Adrien, I think I will. I'll return it as soon as I'm done reading it." 

After that, there was a stuffy silence, the two awkwardly standing and shifting around. Adrien puffing his cheeks out and playing with his fingers.

"I think, I should leave now." Ladybug spoke up, breaking the silence. 

Before she could turn around, Adrien grabbed her wrist gently, "When you're going to return it," he started, his eyes still not meeting hers, a soft blush on his cheeks, "We can hang out and talk about it?"

"If you can, of course! You might be busy and I, uh-"

Ladybug smiled at him, "I would love that. Thank you again Adrien." 

Adrien let go and smiled at her widely, finally meeting her gaze, "No, thank you Ladybug."

After that, she waved at him goodbye and headed out of his bedroom, before swinging out the window she turned around, "Keep a window open." she winked and leaped out, leaving Adrien as flustered as he was when she first arrived. Ladybug decided that she didn't need to know why Adrien was feeling down, or why he was building a wall around himself. What was important was that she managed to make her golden boy crack a smile and for a while, made him happy, and for her, that was enough.

After making it to her balcony, she slipped through the latch and landed on her bed, detransforming after she did so. Marinette grinned to herself, gazing at the manga book Adrien lent her. Tikki flew up to her with a stern look, and Marinette sighed knowingly.

"I know what you're going to say Tikki-"

"I think I'll let this one slide," Tikki smiled to her holder, "He really appreciated what you did, you know?"

Marinette smiled, satisfied to know that her mission was a success. 

**Author's Note:**

> I posted the original one on Wattpad (yikes) but I rewrote and added some things here! (link: https://www.wattpad.com/user/miraculousauthor) 
> 
> stalk me?  
>  marvel twitter: https://twitter.com/parkercapt  
>  'art' account: @captkln on instagram


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